Cartridge cylinder for a toy gun



W. A. HOSBACH, JR

Jan. 26, 1960 CARTRIDGE CYLINDER FOR A Tour GUN Filed June 15, 1958nnnunnm Fig.2

Fig.3

INVENTOR. v Will/am A. Hasbach, J1:

HIS ATTORNEYS 2,922,412 CARTRIDGE CYLINDER Eon A ToY GUN William A.Hosbach, In, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application June 13, 1958, Serial No. 741,823

4 Claims. (Cl. 124--14) This invention relates to toy guns which shootharmless projectiles or bullets, and more particularly to a cartridgecylinder for the toy guns.

My invention provides a cartridge cylinder for the toy gun which ejectsa bullet when its hammer is operated by the trigger mechanism of th gun.Specifically, a toy gun equipped with my invention requires a blow fromthe hammer which is controlled by the trigger mechanism to fire aprojectile. Accordingly the hammer and trigger mechanism of the toy gunperform a com parable function to that of the hammer and trigger of aregular gun which fires a powder propelled projectile or bullet.

My invention relates to a toy gun having a frame which mounts a barrelwith an inner and outer end, a trigger mechanism and a hammer arrangedto be operated by the trigger mechanism and comprises a cylinder mountedfor rotation on the frame. Disposed between the inner end of the barreland the hammer is the cylinder which has at least one chamber radiallyspaced from its axis of rotation and disposed substantially parallel tothe axis of rotation. The chamber has a front open end and a rear openend and is so located on the cylinder that the front end is positionedsubstantially opposite the inner end of the gun barrel when the cylinderis rotated to a given position. The front end of the chamber is adaptedto receive and to hold a projectile and the chamber itself carries apiston disposed therein for movement substantially parallel to the axisof rotation of the cylinder. The piston has a rod with one end connectedthereto and with the other end having a means such as a shoulder forengaging and holding the piston in engagement with the rear end of thechamber, thus effecting a cocking of the piston. The cylinder is sopositioned relative to the hammer that the rear end of the chamber issubstantially opposite the hammer when the front end of the chamber issubstantially opposite the inner end of the barrel so that operation ofthe hammer by the trigger mechanism releases the piston from itsengagement with the rear end of the chamber and thereby ejects theprojectile from the chamber. Disposed between the piston and the rearend of the chamber is a spring adapted for urging the piston towards thefront end of the chamber.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a preferred embodiment of myinvention in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view partially in section of a toy gunhaving my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged section view of the cartridge cylinder of thegun of Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of a locking plate and resilient ring secured tothe cylinder of Figure 2.

The toy gun of Figure 1 comprises a frame 1 and a handle 2 securedthereto. The frame carries a gun barre] 3 having an outer end 4 and aninner end 5, a trigger mechanism 6, and a hammer 7 released by thetrigger mechanism. Supported upon the frame 1 is a cylinder pin 8 whichmounts a cartridge cylinder 9 for rotation thereon. The cylinder pin 8extends through a central rates Patent '2 bore 10 of the cartridgecylinder with the cylinder rotat-' i'ng thereabout.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cartridge cylinder has a plurality ofchambers 11 radially spaced from the central bore 10 and disposedparallel thereto. Each chamber has a front open end 12 and a rear openend 13. The chambers are so located in the cartridge cylinder that thefront end of each is brought into a position opposite the inner end ofthe barrel as the cylinder is rotated on the pin 8. At the front end 12of each chamber is a receptacle 14 which receives and supports a hamlessprojectile or bullet such as a cork bullet 15. When inserted into thereceptacle, the cork bullet fits firmly against the walls thereof sothat compressed air assists in ejecting the bullet from the chamber andout through the barrel as described hereinafter.

Disposed in each chamber is a piston or plunger 16 made from a leatherring 17 sandwiched between two steel rings 18 and 19. Secured to thepiston 16 and extending rearwardly therefrom is a rod 20 having at itsrear end 21 a shoulder 22 located behind a head 23. The pistons travelin the chamber 11 is a reciprocating motion with the leather ring inengagement with the chamber walls so that air under pressure isgenerated within the chamber between the piston and the cork bullet upontravel of the piston towards the front end of the chamber.

At the rear end of the cylinder 9 is a locking plate 24 having aplurality of holes 25 therethrough with the number of holes coincidingwith the number of chambers and with the holes arranged on the plate sothat their spacing corresponds to the spacing of the chambers on thecartridge cylinder 9. The locking plate is attached to the cylinder byfasteners 26 and 27 and consequently rotates with the cylinder and it isso attached to the cylinder that each of is holes is opposite the rearopen end of a chamber of the cylinder. Since each hole issmaller thanthe rear open end of the chamber, the plate partially closes the rearend of each chamber.

In each chamber is a compression spring 28 positioned bet-ween thepiston 16 and the locking plate 24 as shown in Figure 2 chambers 11a and11b- One end of g the spring is in engagement with the locking plate,and

the other end is in engagement with the piston 16. Accordingly, thespring urges the piston towards the front end of the chamber as shown inFigure 2, chamber 11a, where the spring is in its fully extendedposition with projection 29 of the piston extending into the receptacle.14.

Chamber 11b, Figure 2, shows the spring in its compression position.

To fire the cork bullet from the receptacle 14, the piston must becocked and then disengaged from its cocked position by impact from thehammer 7 upon the head In chamber 11b, Figure 2, the

where a ring 30 engages and forces the head downwardly viewing Figures 1and 2. Accordingly, the shoulder 22 fits against and engages the lockingplate at the periphery of the hole 25. In this way thepiston is placedin its cocked position.

The ring 30 is made from rubber, a spring metal, or; any other suitableresilient material whereby upon movement of the rod head 21? throught-hehole 25 of the cocking plate the ring engages the head and forces itdownwardly so that the shoulder 22 engages the periphery of the hole 25.The ring 30, oncethe piston has been cocked, maintains the rod20 and itsshoulder 22 in engagement with the locking plate at the periphery of thehole until-the rod isreleased therefrom by a blow from the hammer 7.Fastener 26 also secures the ring to the cylinder 9 as shown in Figure2.

Referring'to Figure '1, the gun has a pivoted cocking mechanism 31 whichcomprises a lever arm 32, a plunger rod 33 and a pivoted elbow 34. Oneend of the lever arm is secured to the elbow 34as is one end of theplunger rod. The other end of the lever armis held in the position shownin Figure l just beneath the barrel 3 by a clamp 35 when the cockingmechanism is not in use. The other end of the plunger rod is disposed ina guide way 36 located on the frame 1 when the cocking mechanism is notin use. This g uideway, as shown in Figure 1, is so disposed in theframe that it is opposite the forward end of a chamber when the cylinderis rotated so that a chamber is positioned opposite the way. Cocking ofthe piston 1&5 results from swinging the lever arm 32 downwardlyin acounterclockwise direction viewing Figure 1 whereupon the plunger rodmoves to the right, enters the chamber lit and forces the pistonrearwardly until its shoulder #22 is directed into engagement with thelookingplate 24 at the periphery of the hole 25 as previously described.Of course the piston 16 may also be cocked by merely inserting a rod(not shown) into the chamber through the receptacle l4 and movingthe'piston into its cocked position. Once a cylinder is cocked a corkbullet is then inserted into the receptacle Secured to the cylinder 9 bythe fastener 26 is a ratchet wheel 37 having a plurality of notches 33spaced thereon with the notches so disposed that as the hammer 7 ispulled back, a pawl 4i and ratchet member 41, Figure l, operated by thehammer '7 advance a chamber with its piston cocked into firing positionwherein the front end of the chamber is opposite the inner end of thebarrel. Since the hammer 7-is secured to a pivot 45 as is theratchet-member 41, pulling back of the hammer 7 to effect rotation ofthe ratchet member simultaneously causes the pawl'40, which extendsbetween the ratchet member 41 and the ratchet wheel 37, to rotate thecylinder 9 and bring a chamber with a cocked piston into firingposition. The lower end of the pawl 4G is seated in a cavity 46 oftheratchet member and its upper end is 'in engagement with a'notch of theratchet wheel. Thus, the cork bullet is in position for ejection outthrough the gun barrel-and the rear end of the charnber is in positionfor the hammer to strike the rod head 23 and fire the cork bullet fromthe gun.

Ejection of thebullet from its receptacle results from compressed airgenerated by rapid forward travel of the piston in the chamber and/or bythe impact of the projection 29 of the piston against the backend of thecork bullet. Both rapid travel of the piston in the chamber and impactof the projection against the bullet is produced by expansion of thecompressed spring upon release of the piston rod from engagement withthe locking plate.

The trigger mechanism 6, hammer 7, ratchet wheel 37 and pawl 40*whichrotates the cylinder are conventional components of toy guns. Pullingback of the hammer 7 from the position shown in Figure 1 causes theratchet member 41, a component of the triggermechanism, to rotate in aclockwise direction so that projection'42 of the trigger 39 engages anotch 43 in the ratchet member. Upon engagement of the projection 42with the notch 43 the gun is cocked and is fired merely by pullingrearwardly on the trigger 39. When the trigger is pulled rearwardly, theprojection of the trigger is removed from its engagement with the notch4-3 whereupon a spring 44 and shank 44a immediately cause the hammer 7to-travel rapidly through an arc in counterclockwise direction andstrike the rod head 23, thus firing the The ratchet member has a secondnotch 47 whereby the hammer may be pulled back a distance short of thatrequired to cock the trigger so that the cartridge cylinder is freed forrotation to permit cocking of pistons and loading of cork bullets.

A spring 48 maintains the trigger 39 and its projection 42 in engagementwith either notch 43 or notch 47 so that the gun is ready for firingupon cocking of the hammer 7.

Disposed around the periphery of the cartridge cylinder is a pluralityof cylinder locking grooves 49 with each groove being positioned so thatit corresponds to the position ofa. chamber. In the frame 1 is a cavity54 for a spring 51 and a ball 52 adapted to partially fit into acylinder locking groove and thereby lock the cylinder in position sothat a-chamber isheld in its firing position and is not free to rotatewhen the hammer is released for firing the gun.

My invention in a cartridge cylinder for a toy gun imparts reality tofiring of the toy gun as compared to firing a conventional gun withpowder propelled projectiles or bullets. In other Words, a toy gunequipped with my cartridge cylinder requires a blow by the hammer tofire a cork bullet, as some real guns require a blow by the hammer tofire a cartridge.

My invention has a simple and sturdy construction so that a toy gunincorporating the cartridge cylinder will: withstand vigorous use bychildren without being injured or rendered inoperative.

While a certain preferred embodiment of my invention 7 has been shownand described, it will be understood that it may be otherwise embodiedwithin the scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

l. In a toy gun having a frame mounting a barrel with an inner and anouter end, a trigger mechanism and a hammer arranged to be operated bysaid trigger mechanism, the combination comprising a cylinder mountedfor rotation on said frame and disposed between the inner end of thebarrel and said hammer, said cylinder having at least one chamberradially spaced from its axis of rotation and disposed substantiallyparallel to the axis of rotation, said chamber having a front end and arear end and being so disposed on said cylinder that its front end islocated substantially opposite the inner end of said barrel when thecylinder is rotated to a given position, said chamber being adapted toreceive a projectile and having a piston disposed therein for movementsubstantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the cylinder, saidpiston having a rod with one end connected thereto and with the otherend having a means for engaging and holding the rod in engagement withthe rear end of the chamber, thereby cocking said piston, said cylinderbeing so disposed relative to the hammer that the rear end of thechamber is substantially opposite said hammer when the front end of thechamber is substantially opposite the inner end of the barrel, saidengaging and holding means of said rod having a part which is positionedat the rear end of its chamber when said engaging and holding means isin engagement with the rear end of the chamber and which is oppositesaid hammer'when the chamber has its front end opposite the inner end ofthe barrel so that operation of the hammer by the trigger mechanismcauses the hammer to engage said part of theengaging and holding meansand uncocks said piston and thereby ejects a projectile from thechamber,

a spring means disposed between said piston and the rear end of saidchamber and being adapted to urge the piston forwardlyv in said chamber.7

'2. The combination of claim 1 characterized by resilient means adjacentthe rear end of said chamber for urging said means of the rear end ofsaid rodinto engagement with the rear end of said chamber.

3'. The combination of claim 1 characterized by pivoted means pivotallymounted on said frame for cocking said plunger, said pivoted meanshaving a cocking member connected thereto and positioned to enter saidchamher and forcesai'd piston rearwardly in said chamber so that saidmeans on the rear end of the rod engages the rear end of the chamber,thereby cocking said piston, and having a lever rod with one endconnected thereto and disposed to move said pivoted means about itsmounting upon travel of the other end of the lever through an are,thereby causing said cocking member to enter said chamber or to withdrawsaid cocking member therefrom depending upon direction of travel of theother end.

4. The combination of claim 1 characterized by said piston having a headadapted for travel in said chamber in engagement with the inside wallsthereof so that forward movement of the piston within the chambercompresses air in the forward part of the chamber for ejection of theprojectile.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,735,086 Paxson NOV. 12, 1929 2,237,678 Lohr et al. Apr. 8, 19412,509,552 Wolf May 30, 1950 2,625,927 Rosenbloom Jan. 20, 1953

